Cold Cake: The First Week
by lupusFati
Summary: A young man going about his daily routine experiences a major change in his schedule when someone runs a red light at an intersection, causing him to enter a part of the world very few have seen, and survived. Not only must he figure out this new realm in only seven days, but he must do what he loathes in order to survive: cooperating with others like him.
1. Day 0: It's So Wonderful

**Day 0: It's So Wonderful**

"Excuse me," said a young man in his late 20's, as he sidestepped a texter in the middle of the sidewalk.

_Get the hell out of my way!_

If the texter could have heard what the man really thought, he probably would have looked up ever so slightly from his cell phone. As it was, the man just continued along his route, his irritation bubbling just under the surface. Because of the distraction, he didn't notice another person going the opposite way, and ended up getting bumped into.

"Oh, man, sorry!" said the pedestrian, looking back over her shoulder as she continued, obviously late for a class.

_Watch where you're going, dammit!_

"It's fine," mumbled the man, as if reciting a well rehearsed line in a play. "My bad."

He knew that was only partially true, but suppressed what he really wanted to say, all the same. It had become a habit of his over the years, sacrificing his true thoughts for the sake of peace and avoiding confrontation with others. He wasn't exactly a 'loner' type, but he did prefer to spend more time alone than with other people. It was simpler, that way, and even when he interacted with others he always felt fake. Moody, he began to introspect on the feelings he was experiencing, talking to no one in particular in his head.

_I don't get people, really. And yet, this society expects me to do just that.  
__Why do they bother, anyway? Why do _**I **_bother?_

Stopping at the intersection, he adjusted his backpack from under his jacket. Pushing one of his arms out through a sleeve, he pressed the button for the crosswalk as people stopped around him, making him feel just a bit claustrophobic. He felt tempted to say something, but sighed in resignation instead.

_Maybe I should just stop trying so damn hard...  
__I mean, even if I wanted to...  
__It's not like I can be anything like them.  
__It's all an act._

Disgusted with himself, the man allowed the others around him to walk forward first as the crosswalk light changed. Lagging behind, he stepped out into the street.

_I wish society would just step off, really.  
__But they insist, pushing all their values and beliefs on me.  
__I have my world, and they have theirs.  
__Why can't others just leave it at that?_

Before he could finish his musing on this subject, something out of his peripheral vision caught his eye. Turning, he looked on in a split-second of horror just as the sound of horrible screeching sounded throughout the intersection. Then everything turned to darkness.

**End of Day 0: Cold Cake, Cold Break**

**Author Notes: Short, I know, but this is my first story on here so keep in mind I'm new. Also this is a new idea I had so it might take some planning before I really get into it, though I'll do what I can, obviously. I just wanted to get this prologue underway first and set the tone.**


	2. The 1st Day: Chance of Survival

**The 1st Day: Chance of Survival**

Footsteps. Laughter. An engine sans muffler. The chime of the noonday bell in a nearby church. These sounds, and many more, slowly brought the young man to his senses. As he opened his eyes, he realized he was lying on his side in the middle of the street. Standing up, he looked around as people seemed to ignore his existence, going about their daily lives as if they had everything figured out. Until just a moment ago, he had thought he had everything figured out as well. He had, apparently, been dreadfully wrong.

_Alright... I can do this. I just need to find a partner, that's all_, he thought, trying to keep calm. He had no choice, really; given the situation, panic would only get him killed. He would just have to face the music on that particular fact and get moving.

_...I guess my memory is intact, at least_, he mused, sighing a breath of relief. When the concept of an 'entry fee' had been mentioned, he had worried that his memory was the most valuable thing to him. When he was alive, he had often been thinking to himself, remembering tunes or odd little trivia to keep his mind active and busy as he went about his mundane routine, day by day. But then, if his memory was intact, what did they take, exactly? He reasoned he'd attempt to figure it out later.

_Can't believe I'm friggin' dead. Seems like just this morning I was on my way to class..._

A small beeping sound jolted him out of his thoughts, and he dug around in his pocket for the phone he'd been given. He didn't own a cell phone, normally, but every player was required to have one for various things, all related to the Reaper's Game. Apparently all players were given a phone upon their first death... so if he lost this one, he wouldn't be provided with a new one. He had to be careful not to lose it.

"Oh, it's the mission," he mumbled, opening his mail.

**Reach the Quad. You get 30 minutes.  
****Failure will result in your erasure.**

_Zap!_

"Ow!" he shouted, as a stinging sensation made itself known on the palm of his hand. "Dammit, they weren't kidding about the timers!" Red numbers counted down from what he assumed was 30 minutes, though now it read 00:29:57, and counting.

A scream in the distance caused his blood to freeze, even as he heard a strange noise behind him. Not even bothering to look, he began to run; it didn't take a genius to figure out he was in danger at the moment.

As he ran, he saw more and more strange symbols floating around in the air as they systematically surrounded others like him. Before he could do anything, they would vanish as they were erased from existence. But what could he do, really? Without a partner, he was completely powerless; assuming he had a partner, he had no idea how to fight in this nightmarish version of the city. There was one thing he knew, and that was where the Quad was located. It was what drove him on, despite knowing that if he tripped he would soon join those who were erased.

"Let me through!" he heard a rough voice say as he rounded the corner. "Didn't you see all those people get erased? Don't you care?!"

"Not my problem," said a man in a red hoodie, even as he was being threatened by someone in a leather jacket. "The condition stands. Form a pact, and then I'll drop the wall."

"Wait, you hear that?" As the leather jacket man looked back over his shoulder, his eyes first widened in fear as he saw the symbols coming towards him. As his eyes focused, he saw someone else running and smiled.  
"Did you hear that?!" he shouted, "Form a pact with me! Now!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" shouted the younger man, accepting the offer as one of the symbols intercepted him. A white light surrounded the both of them, and he felt something invade his mind as he felt himself become disoriented from the feeling of movement.

**_"Have fun, kiddo!"_**

As his surroundings solidifed, he saw that he was still where he had been, though at the same time everything seemed different. A haze or distortion of some kind hung in the air, almost like a thick fog; he could feel his eyes straining to make sense of it all. He could also feel the sensation of humming or hissing, like the vibrations of sound a television makes when nothing but static is showing, minus the sound. What he did hear, however, caused him to turn around in terror.

A wolf... no, something between a wolf and graffiti-like appendages and markings stared back at him, hunching over as it growled at him. He had never seen anything like it; even as two others joined the first, he got over his initial shock and found himself fascinated by the sight. He knew he should be concerned, but somehow he found himself looking forward to whatever was about to happen next.

_Weird..._ he thought, leaping out of the way of one of the beasts. _I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to feel this excited about something like this... and yet..._

He was still unsure how to fight these things off. While other players had been given a small assortment of pins, he had received none other than a strange black one with a white graffiti skull on it. He knew that one was what marked him as a Player, and wasn't for battle. But when he'd asked why he hadn't been given any pins, the man in the white room had only said one thing.

_"You seem well-equipped to me. For a beginner, anyway."_

But what had he meant by that? Were the pins some way of battling the monsters he saw in front of him? Leaping to and fro, he dug through his pockets to be sure he had nothing on him. No hints, no clues, no pins... wait...

Smacking his forehead, he realized his mistake. Of course! He already had pins on his hat! He'd gotten some for "flair" a long time ago. He had just forgotten he had put them on his hat because they had been there for so long that he'd grown used to having them there.

"I hope this works!" he shouted, placing a finger on one of the pins on his hat. A flaming stapler formed and seemingly ejected itself from some kind of energy field around his other hand. Realizing he could control the trajectory, he caused it to fly into the face of a wolf that had decided to lunge for him. Even though he was sure he hadn't done much damage to it, the loud hiss of static could be heard as the wolf was erased from existence. The other two shortly followed suit, despite him having no time to try another pin. The world shifted around him again as he felt himself returning to where he had been, and before his eyes focused he felt a hard slap to his back.

"Hey, kiddo! We did it!"

"I guess," mumbled the young man. "Those were probably just the easy ones, though."

"Oh... yeah I guess that makes sense," said the man in the leather jacket. "But that's fine. We're alive, right? That's all that matters."

"True."

"Oh! Right, almost forgot. What's yer name kiddo? Mine's Keith."

"...I'm-"

"Pact confirmed," interrupted the man in the red hoodie. "Wall clear."

"Hold that thought, kiddo. We only have five minutes!" said Keith, looking at his hand.

"Right! Let's book it!"

They blazed along the sidewalk, not bothering to sidestep people as they phased through them. Anyone they moved through seemed to feel a chill run up their spine, but paid no other mind to the awkward transitions. Soon, the Quad came into view, and as one of them stepped into the area the timer disappeared, the last number having been 00:00:07.

"Made it!" gasped Keith, panting. "Geez. I didn't think I'd get tired as a ghost!"

"I think it's safe to assume that everything we thought we knew is a lie, at this point."

"Yeah, true. You never told me your n-"

**End of Day 1**

**... T  
****... h  
****... r  
****...Survive...  
****... v  
****... e**


End file.
